A Korean Odyssey: Into the Unknown (화유기)
by leimaginairediaries
Summary: Son Oh Gong tries to take back Jin Sun Mi from the afterlife. But the afterlife is not a place where you can simply come and go, let alone take the soul of the dead. Yi Gyung, the deity of death and the king of the afterlife, hates disorder. What will happen if a powerful fairy comes and disrupt the order in his kingdom? Can Oh Gong successfully take back Sun Mi?
1. Ending Recap

A voice-over (Ma Wang) tells the story of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven to Han Joo's kids:

_Long ago, a powerful monkey was born. He was so ill-tempered that he caused trouble everywhere. Heaven made him into an immortal to pacify him. The monkey gave himself a title: The Great Sage equal to Heaven._

_The Great Sage was punished after stealing staff from heaven to extinguish a great flame. He was locked for a very long time, but he was freed afterward and now, he suffers a great pain of being alone._

Oh Gong stares off into space while sitting in his garden while the Han Joo's kids try to get the golden bracelet he is wearing.

As it turns out, Oh Gong can't remember what happened to him. His memories were shattered after the face-off, and every time he remembers something, he feels pain in his heart. The bracelet, that saved Oh Gong's life after the encounter should've disappeared after Sun Mi died.

Sun Mi died after answering to the task given to her by heaven. She sacrificed herself to stop evil, and to stop Oh Gong from sacrificing himself to save her. With this, Oh Gong's punishment ends, and he can now return to heaven. But, the bracelet…it is making everyone worried. Bo Ri asked permission to allow Sun Mi to return from the afterlife for a day and remove the bracelet from Oh Gong.

Sun Mi appears in the garden and Oh Gong can't remember her. She tells him that it was she who put the bracelet on his wrist, and she was there to remove it. But the thing is, Oh Gong is now the master of the bracelet and Sun Mi won't be able to remove it. As Sun Mi tries to remove the bracelet, he tells her that he is in pain and it is what's keeping him alive.

Oh Gong continues drinking. He asked about them in the past and challenged her to reactivate the bracelet. She did and gave him a kiss on the lips. After a short memory of a kiss they shared in the past, Oh Gong felt a heart-wrenching pain. Sun Mi cries as she watches him in pain.

After Oh Gong's encounter with Ma Wang in his apartment, he was encouraged to listen to Sun Mi and retrieve his memories. Oh Gong then visited Sun Mi's old apartment, in which he remembered a few other memories he had with Sun Mi. He is still unsure why he is pained whenever he remembers.

Oh Gong and Sun Mi traced some of their memories together, starting from the Tteokbokki place they went to. The two also visited the Seoul Tower where Sun Mi buys Oh Gong a cotton candy. Oh Gong claims that Sun Mi only used him to catch demons and Sun Mi told him that he protected her because of a contract from the bracelet.

Oh Gong tells Sun Mi that it was actually him who loved her. Enough for him to hang a star from the sky. Oh Gong tells Sun Mi that she fails. He disappears, leaving with the bracelet still in his arm.

After a moment, Oh Gong returns to Sun Mi after a brief encounter with Ma Wang, Oh Gong finally remembers. He took the bracelet off himself and tells Sun Mi that he loves her.

Before the day ends, Oh Gong gives her a gift – one of his eyes. Through this eye, Oh Gong can find and recognize her wherever she is. She vanishes after telling him that she will wait and that she'll never forget her name this time.


	2. Part 1a

From the moment Sun Mi disappeared in front of him, he knew what he needed to do next: get her out of the afterlife. His vision is halved, but it does not matter, because he is still the Great Sage equal to heaven.

Determined to get out Sun Mi out of the afterlife, he started to pack for his journey. Oh Jeong, worried for Oh Gong, asked if he can join him on this trip. Oh Gong refused, saying that "it's just a quick round trip".

And so, Oh Gong drove his car into the bridge to the afterlife.

**Ma Wang's House**

PK arrived carrying a bottle of expensive rum. In there, he saw Oh Jeong cleaning up.

"Where is everybody?"

"Ma Wang is busy working on his new hotel…and hyung…" he sighed.

"What? Did he return to heaven already?" PK asked Oh Jeong, looking at the bottle of rum in his hand.

Oh Jeong shook his head.

"No, he went to the afterlife."

"What do you mean afterlife?" After a few moments, PK realized. He gasped.

"You mean he is taking back samjang?" The bottle of rum shattered as it fell on the floor.

"I just cleaned this." Oh Jeong calmly said.

"Then what are you doing here?" PK asked Oh Jeong.

"Hyung said that I didn't need to come with him. It will only take a while."

"Are you kidding me? He might really die this time! Not even heaven can stop if the king of the afterlife kills him!"

Oh Jeong, surprised, asked, "What should we do then?"

"We don't have a choice. We have to go with him!" PK said to Oh Jeong, hurriedly as he tries to pull him.

"No, forget that! Ma Wang will clean it when he sees it!"

And the two left.

**Bridge to the Afterlife**

"Where is the Great Sage? We've been here at the entrance for almost a day, and he's not here yet." PK sat on the ground beside Oh Jeong as they wait for Oh Gong at the entrance of the bridge. The two left hurriedly after PK realized that Oh Gong is going on a suicide mission to get Sun Mi back.

"The navigation says that hyung is almost here." Oh Jeong looks at the screen on his phone. The GPS shows that the Great Sage will arrive soon.

_What am I really doing here? I'm not fond of the Great Sage himself. I've almost become a roasted pig for several times already._ He thought. He stood up to tell Oh Jeong that it might be a bad idea to get on the king of the afterlife's bad side.

But before he can open his mouth, a face flashed in his mind – Buja. Buja who died tragically because of the evil Kang Dae Sung. Buja who died again because of the evil Ah San Nyeo.

_If the Great Sage can save Samjang… then maybe, we can save Buja too!_ He realized that the only way to know is to join Oh Gong in his journey. He smiled at the thought of being reunited with Buja again.

"He is here." Oh Jeong smiled. At a distance, a blue car is driving towards the entrance of the bridge.


End file.
